Allegheny General Hospital Honors Organ Donors With Rose Garden Ceremony

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Allegheny General Hospital honored organ donors at its annual rose garden ceremony Friday.

Each donor -- or their family -- received a rose in honor of their loved one's life-saving donation.

Many shared stories about why they decided to donate their organs.

One man says he'll forever be grateful to his old fraternity brother -- who donated a kidney to save his life.

"It's hard to believe that two clowns that joined a frat together as fraternity brothers would one day be reunited not just as friends but now biologically. I carried this guy around with me the rest of my life," one speaker said.

More than 110,000 people in the US are waiting for an organ transplant, including nearly 7,000 in Pennsylvania.